Yearly Archives: 2012

The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is my favorite aircraft, hands down, so when I first read that Hobby Boss would be releasing a new kit into the already-crowded arena of 1/48…

The Lockheed P-38 Lightning is a rare thing in the modeling world - an absolutely iconic design that nobody has really managed to nail...yet. The three principal efforts - those…

The Soviet VVS has always been woefully underrepresented in the modeling world. While a new mold of the Bf 109 or Spitfire or Mustang seems to appear every few months, the aircraft that turned back the Nazi advance and won the Great Patriotic War get the shaft. Many subjects just aren’t covered at all, and many more are covered by dated, sub-par, or troublesome limited-run offerings. There are a few exceptions – Zvezda’s masterful La-5 and La-5FN, Trumpeter’s 1/32 MiG-3, and of course Tamiya’s new Ilyushin Il-2 – but by and large you’re left with something like the ICM LaGG-3 or MPM Pe-2…if you’re lucky.

Thus it was rather surprising when new kitmaker Xuntong Model popped up out of nowhere offering a Soviet bomber as its debut kit. From a business standpoint, I must admit it raised my eyebrows. But from a modeler’s standpoint, who cares, there’s a Tupolev Tu-2 in 1/48 scale! (more…)